Charles Schwab and Cboe launch S&P 500 binary options

**Schwab, Cboe to Launch Binary S&P 500 Contracts for Retail Traders**

Charles Schwab is partnering with Cboe Global Markets to offer retail investors daily yes-or-no contracts on the S&P 500. These binary-style options would pay fixed cash if the prediction is correct, nothing if wrong.

The rollout is planned in the coming months. Not yet available to users.

The contracts will target financially verifiable outcomes — for example, whether the index closes above or below a set level in a day.

Cboe’s **Plus Zone** feature could soften outcomes by offering partial payouts if the index closes close to the target, reducing the all-or-nothing profile.

The move mirrors crypto-native prediction markets like Polymarket and regulated event-contract platforms such as Kalshi, translating the format into a mainstream brokerage setting.

Regulators are expected to monitor the launch closely. Binary products are simple to grasp but easy to overtrade, raising concerns over speculative risks for retail customers.

If demand holds, future offerings may expand to cover macroeconomic events and volatility-linked outcomes.

Source: Reuters